Thursday, March 20, 2014

The war over women is raging in the U.S. and it’s getting ugly. It
seems everyone wants the influence or the vote of women, but each side
has fallen into trying to win influence in a negative manner. Professor
Rachel Lu in her article, “Conservatives and Women”[1]
delves into the issue as it appears in the political realm. The
political players have gotten used to pointing fingers and accusing
others of mistreatment. Lu lays it out well by explaining how
conservatives have pointed to liberals' narrow focus on abortion as a
women’s rights issue and also pointing a finger at Bill Clinton, still a
democratic party icon, as “Womanizer in chief”. Liberals point to
conservatives and say that they relegate women to subservience. They
point to the issue of abortion and say that conservatives want to take
away women’s reproductive rights.

There is a real dilemma underlying the war over women. Women grow
up knowing that one day they will most likely be mothers. What happens
when they become a mother? Do all our life ambitions have to be put to a
halt so that we can stay at home with the children? There are a couple
of realities here. Children are a lot of work and children do best if
raised by their parents. The other reality is that women are fully
capable of being successful in a career. It is difficult to balance
both and it is difficult to go back into a career after years of being a
stay-at-home mom.

In this fight over women I see a major problem. Both sides are trying to solve our dilemma incorrectly.

Liberals incorrectly focus on “reproductive rights”, or abortion, as
a way of escape. Abortion can help us escape the captivity of
motherhood or even just the temporary hardships of pregnancy (because it
would be easier to kill a child than bring the baby into a family who
would like a child). Women will have more to offer society if they
don’t let a child get in the way of an education and career or just an
independent life. Liberals will also tell us that we should be able to
have access to birth control so that we can have “safe sex” because who
can really control their sexual urges anyways? So let’s get young women
on birth control that isn’t 100% effective so that they can have more
unwanted pregnancies so that we can kill more babies for the purpose of
furthering “women’s rights”. It seems illogical that the focus be on a
procedure that not only kills babies, but can negatively affect the life
of the mother by decreasing her chances of being able to conceive later
on in life and increasing her chances of depression. Women who have
had an abortion are 4 times more likely to contemplate or commit suicide[2].
Women who have a Dilation and Curettages abortion at 16% risk of
Asherman’s Syndrome which causes infertility and this risk only
increases with subsequent abortions[3].
Should we kill a human and hurt another for the sake of “reproductive
rights”? What about helping women to be both good mothers and to pursue
their careers without the answer being abortion?

Conservatives tend to have a singular focus on abortion just as much
as the liberals. While I have to agree that exposing the evil of
abortion is necessary, it shouldn’t be our main battle cry. Abortion is
wrong, but instead of focusing on the problem the focus needs to be on
the solution. We need to focus on the solution without feelings of
resentment or anger towards those who have provided a way out through
abortion. And the solution is not pressuring women to be full-time stay
at home moms and to forget their careers.

The problem we need to address is the barrier that society has
set-up for mothers who wish to have a career after taking some time to
focus on their children. There is financial pressure, and the reality
for some, that more than one income is needed to support a family.
Within these realities we need to realize that motherhood is an
honorable calling, but not the only calling for women. We need to look
at scripture to remember the God-given worth and value of women. Here
are just a few sections of Proverbs 31.

“The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of
gain. She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life… She
perceives that her merchandise is profitable. Her lamp does not go out
at night. She puts her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the
spindle. She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to
the needy…. She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of
kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call
her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her.”

In Proverbs 31 we can see that the honorable woman is someone who
does her husband good, takes care of her household, raises her children,
has skill in so many areas and uses them for the glory of God and for
the good of her family. A family is a blessing, not a curse. God
blesses us with good things to bring us closer to Him. We can glorify
Him in all that He calls us to.

I’m not sure what the solution would be to break down barriers for
women. Maybe it would be help with education to keep up to date in our
fields while being a mom or maybe it would be more opportunities to work
from home. Despite these possibilities, I think the main problem is
our hearts towards women. Some think mothers have forgotten how to work
in their field. Think about all that a mother has to do to invest in
the lives of her children. She learns how to sacrifice for the needs of
another, she grows in her patience, she learns how to handle conflict,
and she teaches and imparts wisdom. A mother gains so many new skills
while raising her child. Let’s cherish and value mothers around us and
encourage them in the work they do. The most honorable calling should
be that of creating, shaping, and molding the future.

Maybe if we didn’t feel so bad about disappointing those in our
lives who wanted us to have a career, but instead were surrounded by
those who encouraged us, there wouldn’t be a stigma with pregnancy or
with motherhood. Then maybe the ability to also have a career wouldn’t
be so difficult.

Thursday, January 23, 2014

Near the beginning of the 19th century, Britain
had just lost the war to America and there was talk of another war, this time
with France, on the horizon. Britain was trying to carry on with work as usual,
hoping that the revolution in France would not leak across the English Channel.
However, there was an even greater horror going on within their own empire.
Most people in Britain had heard of this horror in passing, but those who
partook in it were careful to keep it far from the eyes and ears of everyday
British citizens, for to bring this evil into the light could bring financial
ruin for all involved. This horror was known as the Middle Passage.

“The Middle Passage
across the Atlantic was front and center in the slave trade's catalog of
horrors. It was so named because it was the middle leg of the infamous
'triangle trade.' On the first leg, European goods were transported to Africa
and there unloaded; on the second, the ship was filled with its human cargo,
who during this 'middle passage' were transported to the West Indies, to be
sold there; and on its final leg the ship carried West Indian goods back to
Europe.” [1]

This Middle Passage consisted of unspeakable horrors. I feel
it best to describe these horrors, as the author Eric Metaxas did in Amazing
Grace (which I highly recommend reading), in the words of a surgeon who was
on board a slave ship.

“The men Negroes... on being brought aboard
the ship, are immediately fastened together, two and two, by handcuffs on their
wrists and by irons rivetted on their legs... They are frequently stowed so
close, as to admit of no other position than lying on their sides. Nor will the
height between decks, unless directly under the grating, permit the indulgence
of an erect posture... [On these decks] are placed three or four large buckets,
of conical form... to which, when necessary, the Negroes have recourse. It
often happens that those who are placed at a distance from the buckets, and
endeavoring to get them, tumble over their companions, in sequence of their
being shackled. These accidents, although unavoidable, are productive of
continual quarrels in which some of them are always bruised. In this distressed
situation, unable to proceed and prevented from getting to the tubs, they
desist from the attempt; and as the necessities of nature are not to be
resisted, ease themselves as they lie. This becomes a fresh source of boils and
disturbances and tends to render the condition of the poor captive wretches
still more uncomfortable... The place allotted for the sick Negroes is under
the half deck, where they lie on the bare planks. By this means those who were
emancipated frequently have their skin and even their flesh entirely rubbed
off, by the motion of the ship, from the prominent parts of the shoulders,
elbows and hips so as to render the bones quite bare. And some of them, by
constant lying in the blood and mucus that had flowed from those afflicted with
the flux and which is generally so violent as to prevent their being kept
clean, having their flesh much sooner rubbed off than those who have only to
contend with the mere friction of the ship. The excruciating pain, which the
poor sufferers feel from being obliged to continue in such a dreadful
situation, frequently for several weeks, in case they happen to live so long,
is not to be conceived.” [2]

Often times, these conditions would
lead to death. Also, there were cases in which the traders would throw
overboard the sick, so as to save money through insurance as well as to lighten
the load in harsh waters. There are many other accounts of the horrors endured
in the Middle Passage, but the preceding quotations will suffice for the
purpose of this article.

Now you might be thinking, “how
could Britain put up with these horrors?”. One answer to that question is the
fact that the Middle Passage was so far away from Britain that it just did not
seem like a very real issue to them. Another answer is the amount of money and
power that the slave traders and plantation owners had in order to persuade
those who tried to stand against them. However, there were some in Britain who
would not put up with these horrors, no matter what the cost.

One person who felt he had to do
something was a young politician named William Wilberforce. Wilberforce had
deep convictions that if he were not to stand up against this evil, he would be
neglecting his responsibility as a Christian. So he, along with an interesting
group of characters who shared the same desire to rid Britain of the slave
trade, would spend twenty long years fighting for the lives of those in the
slave trade through legislation in Parliament. They travelled across the
British Empire collecting evidence, petitions, and abolitionists in order to
open the eyes of the people to this great evil, hoping to win the support of
the people in order to persuade Parliament to rid their nation of the slave
trade. They wrote books, articles, and legislation that they continually
presented to the public. Eventually, their efforts paid off when in 1807,
Britain passed the Slave Trade Act, abolishing the slave trade throughout the
British Empire, as well as subsequent legislation in 1833, in Britain abolished
slavery itself with the Slavery Abolition Act. Wilberforce and his men had
fought the good fight, and Wilberforce was able to see the results of that fight
a few days before his death.

Now many of you may be thinking
that this is a great story, that if you were in their shoes, you would be doing
the same thing to defend the lives of those in need. Which leads to another
question: what is an equivalent of the Middle Passage in our day? I am
convinced that the answer to that question is abortion.

Like Britain, most people know of
the horrors of abortion, but we have been kept so far from it by the media and
fear tactics that most of us do not think that we need to do anything about it,
because it doesn't affect us. Most abortions are done quietly, with not many
people hearing about their close friends and loved ones who have chosen this
action. Those who support it have been able to persuade the people of this
nation that it is not as bad as it seems, that it is just a normal part of
society that doesn't have any bad consequences and is morally right. However, I
know that if the American people actually stopped what they were doing for a
moment and looked at the issue of abortion, they would see that it is not much
different than the Middle Passage.

I have already touched on the idea
that it is quite hidden from the eyes of society, so let's look at how much
money is backing abortion. Planned Parenthood's website states that the cost of
the Abortion Pill is between $300 and $800 [3]. Their website also states that
an in-clinic abortion costs between $300 and $950 in the first trimester [4].
Compass Care states that a second trimester abortion costs between $300 and
$2000 [5]. Therefore, with America having over a million abortions a year, the
abortion industry is at least a $300 million industry, taking the lowest number
for all abortions. However, factoring in the amount of financial support that
abortion providers receive from businesses, the government, and individuals, as
well as the other costs for abortions, the abortion industry could easily be a
$1 billion dollar industry. (See [6] for similar reasoning). That's quite a bit
of money that companies like Planned Parenthood would be losing, possibly even
putting them out of business. Wouldn't you think that they would do everything
in their power to continue these abortions?

Now let's look at an actual
description of an abortion. This comes from a student who, after this
procedure, realized the horrors of abortion. This description comes from the
abortion of a child that the student claims “must have been less than 13 to 14
weeks”, which is close to the border between the first and second trimester.

“When I entered the operating room, it felt
like any other I had ever been in. On the table in front of me, I saw a woman,
legs up as if delivering a child although she was asleep. Next to her was a
tray of instruments for the abortion and a vacuum machine for suctioning the
fetal tissues from the uterus. The doctors put on their gowns and masks and the
procedure began. The cervix was held open with a crude metal instrument and a
large transparent tube was stuck inside of the woman. Within a matter of
seconds, the machine’s motor was engaged and blood, tissue, and tiny organs
were pulled out of their environment into a filter. A minute later, the vacuum
choked to a halt. The tube was removed, and stuck to the end was a small body
and a head attached haphazardly to it, what was formed of the neck snapped. The
ribs had formed with a thin skin covering them, the eyes had formed, and the
inner organs had begun to function. The tiny heart of the fetus, obviously a
little boy, had just stopped — forever. The vacuum filter was opened, and the
tiny arms and legs that had been torn off of the fetus were accounted for. The
fingers and toes had the beginnings of their nails on them. The doctors, proud
of their work, reassembled the body to show me. Tears welled up in my eyes as they
removed the baby boy from the table and shoved his body into a container for
disposal.” [7]

Does that sound
normal? Does that not bring back memories of the description of the slave ship?
Do you really want to live in a society where this type of procedure is morally
acceptable, regardless of the reason, even if it be mere inconvenience? I won't
even go into the psychological affects that it may have on the woman, but I
think we understand the point. Abortion is not much different than the slave trade.
We say that we would have fought the slave trade if we had lived in that
society, yet we choose to turn a deaf ear when we hear of the horrors of
abortion.

Now I would like
to ask a few other questions. What if William Wilberforce and his friends did not
stand up against the evil that was the slave trade? Where would society be? We
see in hindsight that what they did was a great and noble thing, but are we
willing to take those same steps and risks in society today? Are we willing to
bring to light the horrors that are hidden in our “Middle Passage”? Are we
willing to go above and beyond, possibly to fight for twenty years or more
before we are rid of this evil that has plagued our nation?

Luckily, North
Dakota does not have to fight for twenty years. This November, the people of
North Dakota get to make a stand against this evil by voting on a
constitutional measure that will put in our state constitution that “The
inalienable right to life of every human being at any stage of development must
be recognized and protected.” [8] However, this legislation will not be passed
if we sit idly by and hope that it will receive enough votes. We need to be
opening the eyes of we the people to the horrors of abortion so that, just as
it happened in Britain, the people will see no other choice but to rid our
state and, eventually, our nation of this evil.

For those who
said that they would stand with Wilberforce in the 1800's, are you willing to
make a stand now, here in your own state? The time has come for the people of
North Dakota to show the world that we defend those who cannot defend
themselves. When else in history has a group of people been able to make such a
substantial legislative decision? I hope that you will not finish reading this
article unchanged, but that it would grip you and motivate you to fight this
battle until we stand on the other side of history and say that we were a part
of the great push for the abolition of abortion.

I want to leave
you with a few staggering statistics. Although there is debate about how many
slaves were transported across the Middle Passage, it is estimated that 14 to
20 million Africans either died or were sold due to the slave trade, of whom
between 10 and 14 million made it across the Atlantic [9]. Although I feel Wilberforce
would have fought for even one slave who was sent across this ocean, these
numbers were definitely enough to push him to spend almost his entire political
career fighting the slave trade. Here, the final question arises. Wilberforce
was willing to fight for the lives of 20 million African men and women, most
whom he had never met. Are you willing to fight for the approximately 50
million unborn children who have been killed since 1973 and the millions more
who will be killed every year abortion remains legal? [10]

- Nathan Joraanstad

References:

[1] Amazing
Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery, pg. 97.
Written by Eric Metaxas. Published by HarperOne, 2007. Much of the knowledge of
Wilberforce throughout this article relies on this book.

[2] Amazing
Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery, pg.
97-98, 100

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Pro-life
and pro-choice individuals have been clashing with words, theories, and laws
for over 40 years now. The din hasn’t lessened, nor do I expect it to subside
any time soon. Having been a vocal pro-life advocate for several years, I
often see and hear allegations and reactions from the abortion prone that can
be hard to swallow. What is most frustrating to me is how disinformation
and phony empathy seem to be their tools of choice.

Here in Fargo, at the Red River Women’s Clinic, a group of volunteers have been
coordinating Plants4Patients. As I understand, the volunteers make small clay
pots, plant succulents, write a note of sympathy, and the clinic offers a plant
to a patient as they leave their facility. Under almost any other circumstance,
this sounds like sweet and thoughtful gesture to someone in pain, however, this
is not “any other circumstance”. Abortion isn’t an accident, a disease,
or old age. Abortion is never the only option. Abortion is the intentional
killing of your child. I am well aware that many girls and women who opt for
abortion feel like it is the only remedy to what they view as a problem, while
others opt for abortion as a matter of process; it’s just the last step. I find
it difficult to express adequate sympathy to a parent who has lost their child
through miscarriage, sickness, or accident, but to sit down and write a note to
a girl who has chosen to intentionally cause the death of her child is twisted
and grotesque. I find it shameful that the Red River Women’s clinic has agreed
to participate in this program. Women aren’t dense, we know that when we’re
pregnant the end result is always, one-hundred percent of the time, a baby. We
grieve when a miscarriage ends a pregnancy not because a random clump of cells
is eliminated but because that unique set of cells containing DNA, a beating
heart, and a soul – our child, with 23 chromosomes from father and mother will
not be met, held, and loved here on earth. Do they really think women are so
unintelligent that they are going to be comforted by a plant from the same hand
they paid to kill their child?

Another Pro-choice organization recently called to my
attention is rife with hypocrisy. I discovered a short time ago that I was
being denounced as an “Anti-Choice Bully”. The website, Voice of Choice, is
protesting opponents of abortion and seeking to, “temper the rhetoric and
hate”. So they’ve created a webpage explaining their mission and a search
engine so you can locate “bullies” in your area complete with their Facebook
page, picture, address, and phone number. Apparently these Bullies, “prey on
the culture of fear and stigma that surrounds abortion”. Fear and stigma? if it
was really that strong would we be seeing 3,700 abortions daily in the United
States, and 25 each week in Fargo? The demonstrations and vigils I and many I
know have participated in have never been violent, unsafe, or uncaring. Most
activists try to demonstrate in front of the clinic as a presence and to pray;
some approach clients to ask if all of their options have been explored and if
they’d like other information. We don’t shout, demean, or express anger. We are
reaching out with tender love and care to hopefully prevent a mother and family
from the hurt of abortion and death of their child. Since I discovered the list
of “bullies” a few weeks ago it is now five times the size and I’m sure is yet
a work in progress. I’m waiting for the peaceful and calm phone call from
someone concerned that I might be intimidating a woman, preventing her from
killing her child through my presence and prayer.

It is easy to accuse those concerned about the ill-effects of
abortion of having malicious intentions and a radical view, and to those who
are in a desperate situation and feeling as though they have nobody to turn to,
it is probably very easy to believe those false allegations. This
underscores the importance of our reaching these women FIRST and showing them that
our primary concern is in fact, their health, well-being, and the life of their
child. It is an immediate response to what could amount to a lifetime of
regret and self-destructive behavior as well as the death of a child who is
wanted. If the response is heeded, the subject could not only realize the
love of the responder, but the peace of having made the decision to spare the
life of their child, and preserve their own dignity without regret. I
have yet to hear of a woman who wished she had aborted her child.

Through the strength and love of Christ I will continue to
pray both for those who oppose my stance and for those involved with abortion
because it’s the most peaceful rhetoric I know.

Monday, September 23, 2013

Rachel Lu in her article “Millennials
and Marriage” very well captures the sentiment many young adults have towards
marriage.I, being a “millennial” myself,
and having attended a small liberal arts college in Minnesota similar to St.
Thomas, where Lu teaches, have felt the same sentiment from my peers.

One experience keeps resonating in my
mind where my friend was talking about her roommate who had come to college
with the purpose of finding her future husband.She was severely disappointed after many heart breaks and the reality
that most of the guys at our college weren’t even close to looking for a spouse.She came to our college to find a husband
because 20 years or even 10 years prior, most that attended our small college
left married or at least with a ring on their finger.Why have things changed?Why are we so afraid to get married?

The problem is that no one taught us
about marriage; no one in our schools, our parents, or even our Universities
all failed to prepare us for one of the most drastic changes that most of us
will experience.Lu discovered this when
her students expressed their wishes that they were taught more about
marriage.The truth is 70% of young
adults still desire to get married, so it is something important to us and we
want to be prepared.If marriage is still
desired by young people why aren’t we getting married?

Lu explains how while marriage is still
important to us, it is now a lesser priority.Marriage is something to accomplish after an education and career are
established.Lu alludes to the marriage
problem we have, but doesn’t go into much detail.We obviously have a problem with marriage,
but why?

One thing that contributes is the
dissonance between the picture perfect feelings-based romance the media has
sold us and reality.All of us have
witnessed the pain of divorce; if not in our own families, in the families of
those close to us.Growing up we saw our
parents or friends’ parents fall out of love and break apart their families.Our friends cried to us and expressed how
they felt their parents’ divorce was their fault.We put our arm around our friend, reassuring
them that it wasn’t their fault and wonder, “Is marriage worth the heart ache?”No wonder why we are so hesitant to make a commitment
that is so often broken.

The problem with society’s view of
marriage is that we tend to put ourselves first.This is becoming even more so as we are
shifting from a religious, family-based economy to a secular, individualistic
one (Potrykus & Fagan, 2011).We
have always been a country where we value hard work and individual achievement,
but it has been falling into the extreme.

The negative effects of an extreme value
system have been experienced throughout history.In World War II, an extreme value of one’s
national identity led to the death of hundreds of thousands who differed.Our own history has even shown our own
weakness as our individual selfish desires for wealth led to the African Slave
Trade and the most bloody war in our history.I’ve spent some time in Uganda where the value of relationship can go
too far and turn into a poor work ethic because conversations are more
important than work.All our cultures
have their strengths and weaknesses that we need to be aware of.

You’d think we’d be keenly aware of our
weakness to make individual wealth a priority after it has caused the pain of
many, but sometimes we fail to learn from history.Our blindness to our cultural weakness is one
major piece of the puzzle when trying to grapple with the crumbling state of
marriage in the United States.

Our self-centric weakness is evident in
Lu’s article.The students express that they
want to be successful before marriage.Really what I know many of us feel deep down is, “I can be successful on
my own.I don’t need anyone to take my
focus off my career.A spouse would
definitely hinder my ability to be successful.”And let’s be honest success in the United States equals material
wealth.Why do we put so much value in
something that is fleeting?As Lu points
out, careers are not so stable anymore.We need something that is attainable and purpose filled.A career can’t promise this, especially in a
time when careers are more difficult to secure.As Lu writes, “The unemployed young, in particular, will end up
rootless, purposeless, and lacking the stability that marriage and commitment
can provide.”Our priorities are skewed.We put something that is fleeting above
something that can last, bring purpose to our lives, and has so many benefits.

Doesn’t this point us back to our
Creator who created marriage for a purpose?God created marriage to reflect His covenant with us; a covenant that never
breaks and is loving above anything else.Is love easy?No, out of love
Christ died for us.Love requires
sacrifice and maybe marriages wouldn’t break apart so easily if we’d put the
same type of work ethic into our marriages as our careers.When we are willing to sacrifice our selfish
desires for the good of our families something quite miraculous happens; it
works.What is even more astonishing is
how sacrificial love draws out the love and respect of others.God’s design is good and perfect. Soli Deo Gloria!

This post is in response Rachel Lu’s
article entitled, “Millennials and Marriage” in The Public Discourse.To read the full article click
here.

To read more about the benefits of
marriage please read “Marriage One Foundation”,
a paper by North Dakota Family Alliance.

Monday, July 22, 2013

If you think we are somehow insulated from human/sex
trafficking in North Dakota—think again.While it is hard to get concrete numbers on the underground world of
human trafficking, it is accurate to say “there is no community in the state
safe from it”.And as such, young teen
girls are the primary target.It is
estimated as many as 100,000 missing children have been forced into prostitution
each year in the US.

Check internet sites and you will find 30-50 new postings
daily offering services of prostitution, and that’s just for one city in North
Dakota.While we may think the
prostitution business may be only thriving in northwest North Dakota, it covers
the entire state.And with the huge
influence of the multi-billion dollar pornography industry on the internet—the
US trafficking industry has grown to $9.8 billion.Why should we be surprised that the high
demand for these young girls would result in the highly competitive, solicit at
any cost, illegal practice of acquiring a stable of captives?And they are captives.

Federal law criminalizes human trafficking, and in 2009
North Dakota added language to the ND Century Code.Since then the prevalence of sex trafficking
has increased and we need to respond.The North Dakota Family Alliance is partnering with the newly formed
Voice for the Captives and other Christian groups—to fight this inhuman
atrocity.

Trafficking involves force, fraud, coercion, enticement,
harboring, transporting, and promotion of these held captives.It is a dark industry affecting the most
vulnerable among us.Small-time” pimps
dominate the trafficking industry—it is important to be able to identify who “they”
are.It may be that new 24 year old,
smooth talking young man showing up in the community; it may be a friend of the
family, or even a family member.

A fifteen year old girl working as a waitress is promised
10 times her wages and tips, and at the beginning all seems innocent
enough.But before she knows it she is
full of guilt and shame and she is beholden emotionally, financially, and
sometimes even physically.It seems
impossible to break free—it seems as if there is nowhere to turn.All seems hopeless.Ironically, the only security seems to rest
in the one holding her captive.

We need to step up.We need to be that security that restores the hope.What can we do?First, we need to raise the level of
awareness, and then train teachers, law enforcement,counselors, parents, church staff, and
children how to recognize the tactics of the trafficker.We need to prevent trafficking.

Next we need to rescue those held in captivity.We need to provide a safe transition out of
their bondage, addressing their needs emotionally, physically, financially, and
spiritually.Some of this may need
legislative action, but much can be addressed by our churches and civic
organizations.

And finally, we need to prosecute those guilty of these
barbaric actions.We need to provide law
enforcement with the resources to identify the traffickers and bring them to
justice.

NDFA, along with coalition members including Voice for
the Captives will meet with the Superintendent of Public Instruction to discuss
informing parents and students, and then meet with the Attorney General
regarding enforcement.

For more information or an opportunity to become
involved, please contact Lisa at Atonement Lutheran Church with the Voice for
the Captives at 1-701-237-9651 or Carly with the North Dakota Family Alliance.